Grace Tame denies having ‘friendship’ with new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Grace Tame has denied having a “friendship” with Anthony Albanese, as she reveals what she hopes to see from the PM moving forward.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has said she doesn’t have a “friendship” with Anthony Albanese, as she revealed what she hopes to see from the new Prime Minister in the future.

It is no secret that Ms Tame isn’t a fan of outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, with the 27-year-old even taking the opportunity to stick the boot in one last time on Saturday, sharing a smiling picture with Mr Albanese to social media.

“A grateful nation is crying with you. And who said I didn’t smile at the prime minister?” the caption read.

“Here’s to inclusion, integrity, diversity, truth, equity, respect, safety and change. A better future. For all of us. For the planet. Congratulations to @albomp, and to the people of Australia — for a triumph over corruption and abuse. A triumph of hope. Today was a victory for us all.”

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Grace Tame posted this photo with Anthony Albanese. Picture: Instagram/@tamepunk

However, despite her kind words for the new PM, Ms Tame claims she and Mr Albanese aren’t friends.

The activist and advocate for survivors of child sexual assault appeared on Studio 10 on Monday, with the hosts asking if she had spoken to Mr Albanese in the wake of his election win.

“Have you spoken to Albo since his win on Saturday? You guys have obviously got a nice friendship,” co-host Sarah Harris asked.

“Oh, look, I wouldn’t say it’s a friendship. You know, these people are politicians,” Ms Tame responded.

She revealed she had sent him a message just echoing what she had said publicly in the wake of his win.

Studio 10 co-host Sarah Harris asked about Ms Tame’s ‘friendship’ with the new PM. Picture: Studio 10/Channel 10

Ms Tame said she wouldn’t describe her relationship with Mr Albanese as a friendship. Picture: Studio 10/Channel 10

Ms Tame said she felt “a lot of relief” that Australia was now free of a Morrison government.

“I think it was, again it was a lot of relief. More so to be free of the deception that we were exposed to, that we were in the grips of at the hands of the previous government, which I had first-hand experience of and which Brittany (Higgins) had a first hand experience of,” she said.

“I’ll spare you the details of that. Brittany’s story is Brittany’s story to tell. My story is my story to tell, but it wasn’t great.”

Ms Tame was also asked about comments made by former Liberal frontbencher Julie Bishop, who claimed women like Ms Tame and Ms Higgins were behind Mr Morrison’s loss.

“Women did not see their concerns and interests reflected in a party led by Scott Morrison in coalition with Barnaby Joyce,” Ms Bishop said during Nine’s broadcast of the election on Saturday night.

“We have not mentioned at this point the impact of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, they changed the narrative when they exposed an ugly side to the workplace in Canberra. That resonated with women.”

Grace Tame hasn’t been quiet about her dislike for outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The former Australian of the Year said, while she was “humbled” by Ms Bishop’s words, it takes away from the fact that Australians as a whole made the decision on Saturday by going out and casting their votes.

“I think what one of the most hopeful things about Saturday’s election result proves is that everybody has a certain degree of power and everybody has a voice. This result I think ultimately was for the unheard, it was for the silent, it was for was for the underdogs,” Ms Tame said.

She claimed Australia had voted for a “new shade of democracy”, citing the rise in votes for Independents and Greens candidates.

“We are kind of dismantling this construct of power that we’ve been led to believe must be the way,” Ms Tame said.

“I think that’s really empowering for a lot of people. It wasn’t just me. There are a lot of people who have been yelling into the to the void for a long time who don’t get any recognition for the work they do and they slave away tirelessly.

“To think about the attempts to divide the people, to throw minorities under the bus, I mean the trans community, I mean First Nations people, I mean frontline workers.”

She praised everyone who turned up on Saturday to vote and “symbolically frowned” in the face of corruption.

Ms Tame while there may have been a few voices like her own that were amplified, it was a group effort from all Australians, adding it takes away from the fact that everyone “did that together”.

“All of us. It wasn’t just women. It was the gender diverse voices. It was the people of colour. It was every single Australian who did that on Saturday,” she said.

Originally published as Grace Tame denies having ‘friendship’ with new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese